Sermon Tone Analysis

Today we continue our series on the ‘bad girls of the Bible.’

We’ve explored the story of Eve and our need to pursue wisdom.

Then last week was the story of Rahab, who helped the spies of Israel as they attacked the city fortress of Jericho.

Rahab chose what we called “consolation.”

She moved closer to God despite the chaos and the struggles she faced.

As the trumpets play and the walls of Jericho come tumbling down she is rescued by the spies and eventually becomes part of the lineage of Jesus Christ.

Its an incredible story and a reminder for all of us to draw closer to God no matter what challenges are ahead of us.

Now we look at our final ‘bad girl.’

This is the story of a woman who is not named.

She is simply known as ‘the sinful woman’ or sometimes ‘the woman with the alabaster jar.’

Her story, on its surface, seems simple, but we are going to dive deep into it and hopefully discover something truly revolutionary for all of us.

(??/Kara) is going to read for us today.

This passage comes from the Gospel of Luke and in the previous passage Jesus says how people accuse John the Baptist of being bad because he won’t sit and eat with people, but when Jesus does it they call him a glutton a drunkard, and a friend of tax collectors and sinners.

Well here we have an example of Jesus being friends with these people.

As Jesus is traveling the countryside preaching and teaching, he is invited to a religious leaders home.

There’s all kinds of subtext here, and we’ll get to that later, but listen closer for the perspective of the woman who was a sinner.

This is from the Gospel of

Luke 7:36-50

.

Hear now the word of the Lord:

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Luke 7:36–50

One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and took his place at the table.

And a woman in the city, who was a sinner, having learned that he was eating in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment.

She stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to bathe his feet with her tears and to dry them with her hair.

Then she continued kissing his feet and anointing them with the ointment.

Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him—that she is a sinner.”

Jesus spoke up and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” “Teacher,” he replied, “speak.”

“A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.

When they could not pay, he canceled the debts for both of them.

Now which of them will love him more?”

Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the greater debt.”

And Jesus said to him, “You have judged rightly.”

Then turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman?

I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has bathed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair.

You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet.

You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment.

Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love.

But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.”

Then he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

But those who were at the table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”

And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

[And from

2 Corinthians 2:14-15

]

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2 Corinthians 2:14–15

But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads in every place the fragrance that comes from knowing him.

For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing;

The word of the Lord for the people of God.

Thanks be to God.

Let’s pray: Lord, may we be an inclusive community passionately following Jesus Christ.

Open our hearts to your word, that we would love as you love, and defend others as you would defend them.

Bless us to both hear and understand your word this day.

Amen.

Susan had a very unusual experience.

When she was a teenager she was hit by a truck and ever since had trouble reading.

She was very bright, but bored out of her mind in school.

So one day a friend suggests that she go to her college with her.

She told her it was much better than high School and she could simply listen to the lectures from the professors and she decided to try it.

She wandered onto campus, into a building and she opened the first door she came to and her life was changed.

She had stumbled into a sign language class.

This was back when such classes were rare, but seeing people make pictures with their hands was so much easier than reading books!

Susan was hooked, and studied Sign Language.

After graduating she found herself in demand and working at a community college with students.

Her first day was chaotic and the students are all signing to each other.

Susan walks up to the professor and she notices there is one student off by himself.

He isn’t signing to anyone; he’s just holding himself like he’s all alone.

She decides to go up to him and ask him some questions.

She first signs, “Hello, my name is Susan” and he signs it right back to her, “Hello, my name is Susan.”

She’s a little confused, but she shakes her head, “No, no I’m Susan.”

He signs back, “No, no I’m Susan.”

And she figures out he has no idea what he’s doing.

He was born deaf, he was 27 years old and he has no idea how to talk to other people.

He had no language.

Being born deaf this man didn’t know there was such a thing as sound.

He thought everyone around him figured out all this stuff just from visual learning, and so at some point he decided that he must be stupid; he just couldn’t do it.

Susan didn’t give up so easily, though.

She decided to try and teach him some basic sign language.

She signed “table” and got “table” back.

She tried “book” which in sign language looks like opening a book, and he thought she was commanding him to open a book.

This went on for weeks, until finally Susan has a brilliant idea.

She is going to ignore this student; she is going to look somewhere else and not pay any attention to him.

She said of this moment that if ever she had a stroke of genius in her life, this was it.

She started to teach an imaginary student.

She would sign to an empty chair and then after go and sit in that chair.

She would react the way she wanted her student to react.

She would hold a picture of a cat, sign cat and pretend to pet the cat.

Then she would pass it to the imaginary student who…was her…and act as though she got it!

She understood and would sign back “cat.”

On and on this went.

At least he had stopped copying her, and was watching her, but sometimes he seemed very bored.

She doesn’t give up, though.

She keeps trying and one day, in the middle of an exercise, she seems him shift.

His eyes grow wide and he slams his hand on the table as if to say, “Oh! Everything has a name!”

And he’s looking at her in a demanding way pointing to the table and she signs table.

Then he points to the clock and she signs clock.

He points to the door and she signs door.

He points to her and she signs Susan and he starts crying.

He collapses in tears as the full weight of what he has learned hits him; this is language - everything has a name.

He can talk, he can remember and tell stories.

He is no longer imprisoned because he has a way to communicate with others around him.

It’s a beautiful moment, and reminds all of us of just how powerful language is.

I think of Helen Keller and her teacher spelling ‘water’ into her hand and how that moment would go on to change the world as she went on to become the first deaf and blind graduate of higher learning.